Relay



Feb. 26, 1929. 1503,83?

s, M. DAY

RELAY Filed April 9, 1920 4 sheets-sheet 1 I e. I. I

I I I I uw I 1 I I l A'TTORNEY.

Feb. 26, 1929. 1,703,837

S. M. DAY

RELAY Filed April 9, 1920 i 4 SheetS-Sheet 2 4 Fla. 2. 14

r is.. N

15 15 lnsula'ion lnsulalion f5-A 1 l F- Feb. 26, 1929. 1,703,837

s. M. DAY

RELAY Filed April 9, 1920 4 sheets-sheet 5 am as Feb. 25, 1929.1,703,837

s. M. DAY

RELAY Filed April 9, 1920 4 sheetawsneet 4 Mmm/A114414 B l? l M424 TMPatented Feb. 26, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SALISBURY M. DAY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL RAILWAYSIGNAL COMPANY, 0F ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

RELAY.

Application filed April 9,

This invention relates to direct current relays of the tractive typeespecially designed for use in railway signal systems. The principalobject of the in vention to improve and simplifyv the construction ofrelays of this type, particularly with the view of providing anorganization of parts which can be readily combined or adjusted to litthe various working conditions and requirements .found in practice.Other detail objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

In describing the invention in detail reference will be made to theaccompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tocorresponding parts in the several views, and in. which Figure l is alongitudinal section through a relay embodying the invention organizedas a neutral relay;

Fig. 2 .is a vertical transverse section on the line 2 2 in Fig. l;

Fig. B is a plan view of the parts in the enclosed compartment of therelay, the top plate and coils being removed, this view showing thearrangement of parts for a neutral-polar relay;

Fi 4f, is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially on the linelf-il in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the rear bracket. said view being taken onthe line 5-5 in, Fig. l.;

Fig. S is a fragmentary view showing how the relay may be springsupported on a wall so as to be protected from j ar and vibration;

Fig. 7 a detail section of one of the in sulating studs for supportingthe contact fingers;

Fig. S is a fragmentary View of a contact linger having a carbon orgraphite contact elementg Fig. 9 is a fragmentary View of the corner ofthe relay case, in horizontal section, showing an alternativeconstruction of the glass side walls.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have shown my relay organizedas a neutral (Fi l and 2) and as a neutral-polar Y, (Figs. 3 and l) thechange being made from one type to the other by merely adding orchangirw` certain parts. I will describe .first the con reaction of theparts common to both types and then the additional parts and changesrequired to make up a neutral-polar relay.

My improved relay comprises in general a.

1920. Serial No. 372,585.

top plate or panel l, a bottom plate or base 2, and glass side walls thewhole forming the enclosed chamber or compartment containing thecontacts and moving parts of the device. The top plate l is made ofmolded porcelain which is preferably unglazed so that certain surfacesmay be finished or ground, and which, after such finishing, is dippedinto insulating varnish or similar solution. The base 2 is preferablymade of aluminum or similar rustless alloy, or it may be made of ironsuitably protected against rust. The glass walls 3 on the four sides ofthe relay may be molded in one piece, as shown in Fig. 3, or made up'ofseparate plates connected together at their adjacent edges by sheetmetal clips 4;, as shown in Fig. 9. The top plate l and the base 2 areconnected by three long screws 5 and 6 6, the two front screws GMS beingsurrounded by a bushing or sleeve 7 of suitable insulating material, inorder to avoid accidental grounding of the circuit controlling parts ofthe relay to the metallic base 2. The top plate l is cut away around itsedge to provide a recess or rabbet to receive a. gasket 8. Similarly,the outer edges of the base 2 are eut away or depressed to receive asimilar gasket. These gaskets 8 are preferably made of cork and areshellaccd in place. I find cork preferable to felt for this purposebecause it does not absorb moisture and conduct it into the relaycompartment. It should be noted that there is no led ge or lip aroundthe lower edge of the glass walls 3 to catch water.

In order to permit interchange of air from outside and inside the relaycfnnpartment, I provide a Ventilating opening'in the bottom which isfilled with a line mesh gauze 9 fastened to an eyelet pressed into thehole in the base 2. In case the special conditions do not require suoliventilation, the mesh of the screen 9 may be filled 'with paint or thelike.

A bracket l0, suliistantially inverted ,U- shape (see Figs. l and isfastened to the top plate l along its rear by a long screw 5 and twoother screws ll. The hole in the bracket l0 and top plate l for the longscrew 5 is made large enough to permit this screw being inserted fromthe top with the bracket and its attachments in place. The bracket l()affords a convenient handle or grip for carrying the relay. and alsosupports a terminal block 12 for the line connections and the coilleads. The terminal block preferably made of porcelain, and is fastenedto a shelf-like projection integral with the bracket by screws 13 havingtheir heads countersunk in said block. Three binding posts v14 of theusual construction are fastened to this terminal block, the heads ofsaidbinding post seing countersunk in recesses in 'the underside of saidblock. The recesses in the terminal block for the screws 13 and thebinding post 14 are preferably filled withsealing wax or similarmaterial. In the sides of the bracket are holes 15 for receiving screwsor similar fastening devices so that the relay may be supported on awall. p

In the top plate 1 is a large rectangular hole 1o (see Fig. l) overwhich is fastened by screws 18 a coil support or plate 17 of brass,aluminum or similar non-magnetic material, the surface of the top plate1 around this hole 16 being ground to form a tight joint with the coilsupport 17. 0n the coil support 17 are mounted the usual pair of coils19 which have cores 2O pressed into holes in enlarged square pole pieces21, said pole pieces being fastened to the coil suppo'rt'17 by screws22. The cores 2O are connected at their upper ends by the usual backstrap 28 of magnetic material. The coils 19 are taped and impregnated,and are held against. movement between the back strap 23 and thecoilsupport 17 by inserting the requisite number of thin insulating washers24 between said coils and thecoil support 17.

The armature 25 of the relay consists of a rectangular plate which has apivot bar 26 riveted thereto near each end. Integral with the coilsupport 17 are two downwardly eX- tending armature supports or hangers27 which have holes at their lower ends for receiving trunnion pins 28,said hangers being split and provided with Vclamp bolts 29 and lockwashers to hold the trunnion pins in place. The pivot bars 2G areprovided with bearing holes for receiving said trunniou pins 28. Inaddition to the usual residual pins 30 in the pole pieces 21 (partlyshown in Figs. 1 and 4), a stop bar 31, of brass or similar hardnon-magnetic material, is fastened across between the two pole. pieces21 by screws 32` (see Fig. 3), the faces of the polepieces beingYrecessed toreceive the ends of said stop bar. In the armature 25 isthreaded a screw 33, with the usual lock nut, which strikes the stop bar81 as the armature is raised to its attracted position, so that byadjusting said screw 33 the minimum air gapy may be changed. YThearmature 25 carries a number of contact fingers, designated a whole G,

, which are constructed alike, so that a descrip tion of one'willsuffice for all. Each contact finger G comprises a strip or bar 34 ofbrass or similar conducting material which is rigidly fastened at oneend to the armature 25 by two insulators 35, shown in detail sect-ion inFig. 7. This insulator comprises two 1,703,837 i v p Vthreaded studs 36each having its head provided with a V-shaped circumferential groove36"L and also with a cross slot 36h. The

' heads of said studs 36 are imbedded in a cylindrical block 37 ofmolded insulation, with the heads projecting slightly. One stud 36 is'screwed into the armature 25 and the other 38 associated with eachContact `linger, the

corners of this plate being bent up against the sides of the nuts, asshown in Fig. 1. Between the front insulator and the `bar 34 is a clip40 to which the usual pigtail41 is fastened. In the particularconstruction shown, the pigtail 41, which is preferablyA made ofbraidedv copper, isv threaded through two spaced slots in the clip 40and soldered. The other end of the pigtail 41 is fastened to a similarclip 40n which is connected toa binding post H.

In my improved relay, there are three rows of binding posts supported bythe top ,plate 1` in front of thecoils 19. @ne of these binding posts,designated as a whole II, is the post to which the pigtail 41 isconnected, this post being conveniently termed the heel post. Thebinding posts Fin the next row support the front contacts, and thebinding posts B in the front row support the bac-lr contacts.y Thepost-s I-I, F and B are of different heights in step fashion, as shownin Fig. 1. The construct-ion of these different binding posts is thesame in many respects, and for convenience corresponding parts will begiven' the same reference characters with additional eX- ponents.

rlhe post I-I comprises an elongated head or standard 4 2, square incross section, which lits into a square recess formed by a raised ridge43 on the upper surface of the-top plate 1. A round shank 44, integralwith the head 42, extends down through the top plated and is threaded atits lower end to receive a nut 45 clan'iping the binding' post in placeand nuts 46 for clamping the pigtail clip 40a. The post has the usualnuts 47 at the upper end for attaching wires; and extending betweenthese nuts and the top plate 1 is a sleeve 48 of suitable insulatingnlaterial which surrounds the head or standard 42 and protects itagainst laccidental Contact with wires attached to the other posts,tools, or metallic articles dropped between the posts. T e raisedridges48 onv the top plate 1 prevent small quantities of water,sometimesgathering on the top plates of relays, from gettingv access tothe `ioint between the bin-ding post and said top plate.

The bar 34 of each contact linger Gr has riveted thereto near its frontend a it'ront contact spring 50 and a hack Contact spring 51. The frontend portion of. the bar is reduced in width (see Fig. 2) and is lientdown as bestA lil() shown in F in; l, to enga-ge the back Contact spring l at its outer end and limit its upward movement. The spring issplit into three parts at its outer end (see Fig. ll) and to each partis fastened a tip 52, of coin silver, or other non-corrosive conductivematerial. The spring 5l. has a similar tip fastened thereto.

The front contact member, carried by the bindinpost F, comprises a stemwhich threaded into an axial bore in the bindingr .post F, so that thismember may be usted up and down. A jam nut and washer 5G on this stemengages the bottom of a recess in the under face of the top plate l, andnot only clamps the binding' post F in place, but also locks said stem.in its adjusted position. The lower end of the stem 55 is provided witha jaw or socket, in which the contact element 57 is fastened by a screw58. This front contact element 57 is in the forni of a rectangularblock, With a hole for receiving the screw 58.

In relays for railway signaling', the contacts should be non-fusi K havea lov-f contact resistance, with a relatively small. contact pr sure',and be capable of n'iainta' ling such low resistance in service after al: number of operations. To prevent fusing, one of the contact elementsis made of some form of carbon, the other element being any suitablehighly conductive non-corrosive n'ietal, such as 99.9% tine silver. Theuse of a carbon contactelement, however, gives a relatively high contactresistance, and to reduce this resistance I impregnate or saturate thecarbon element with a small percentage of copper. Instead of carbon inthe form of graphite, which has the objectionable greasy propertycausing it to form in time a film or coa-ting on the metal clement,.increase lthe contact resistance, and make is fluctuate in service, Iemploy a hard dense carbon, having a crystalline struc-ture. A carbonwhich I find satisfactory for this purpose is an oil or gas furnaceproduct, which is ground up into a Vtine flour and then pressed togetherat high tcmpcrature with asuitable binder to vgive a hon'iofijeneous anduniform structure. rIlle constituent parts of this carbon are treatedand selected so that the carbon is sulciently porous to receive a smallpercentage of pure eoiliper. The percentage of copper may be va ried, tosuit particular conditions. As larger percentages of copper as used,lower contact resistance is obtained, but the tendency to fuseincreased. I find that troni about live to li teen per centof copper byvolume provides a non-fusing' element having the desired low contactresistance; and I find ten per cent of copper, or as nearly ten per centas can be (,btained in commercial manufacture, ogives satisfactoryresults under the average conditions found in practice. The impregnationof the carbon with copper is preferably made by a combined vacuum andpressure process, so that the copper is as uniformly distributed aspossible. This Contact element is dense and hard, in fact, so hard thatit cannot be Worked by ordinary tools but mustbe finished withca-rborundum Wheels or other hard grinding compound. I find that such acarbon contact element gives in practice a low contact resistance withcoin silver of approximately .15 to .25 ohms, With. a Contact pressureof from approximately 11/2 to 2 ounces per contact. Moreover, this lowcontact resistance stays constant in regular service, and will be aslow, or perhaps lower, after many operations.

The Contact spring 50, carrying the metal Contact element, is normallyset at 'an angle with respect to the surface of the carbon element 57(see l), so that when the armature of the relay is attracted, thisspringr is flexed slightly, and the silver tips 52;are slight-ly wipedor rubbed over the surface of said carbon element. This slide cleans thesurface of the contact elements, thereby maintaining' them in conditionto make an intimate and low resistance Contact, and also causes thecircuit to be broken at a different point than Where the current iscarried normally 'While the relay is energized. The parts are adjustedin manufacture so that the desired Contact pressure and rub areobtained.

The back Contact comprises a bracket or support 60 which is curved orbent in the shape shown in F ig. l. This bracket has a flange at itsupper end which fits in a slot or recess in the undersideof the topplate 1, so as to hold the bracket against turning, and this iange isclamped to the binding post B by a `nut 6l provided With a suitablelocking clip,

as shown in Fig. 2. The back contact member shown in F igs. 1 and 2comprises a pin 62 of brass or similar material, which is threaded intoa horizontal flange integral with the bracket G0, so that it may beadjusted up and down, and is clamped in its adjusted position by a locknut 63. The enlarged head of this pin 62 has a thin Waferlike contactelement 64, of silver or similar material., soldered thereto.

Instead of metal to metal, or metal to carbon contacts, carbon to carboncontacts may be desirable under certain circumstances; and Where this isrequired. I attach a carbon or graphite button 67 to the contact springs5() or 5l in the manner best shown in Fig. 8.

The neutral type relay above described may be readily converted into apolar neutral type by adding! a polar armature and associated partsshown `in Fi 2% and 4. The polar arma-ture itself comprises two U-shaped permanent magnets 7() fastened t0- gether back to back by bolt 71and two dowel pins 72 to a. cross member 73 of carrier bar C. In vthiscross member 73 are fixed upper and lower pivot pins T5 and 7G. Theupper pin T5 sets in a bearing hole in a boss or lug integral with thecoil support 17, and the lower pin 76 lits in a bearing bushing set 5into the stop bar 31, so that the carrier bar C and the magnets 70 aresupported for move ment on a vertical axis in the plane of the polepieces 2l and above the neutral armature The corresponding ends of thepermanent magnet 79 are of opposite polarity and theconstruction'provides for nxag4 ietic attraction and repulsion by bethpole pieces 21. 'lhe carrier bar C extends crosswise of the relay infront of the neutral armature 25 (see Fig. l) and has two i.eai-.v'ardlyprojecting side arms Z4- to which polar contact fingers Z7 are fastenedby two insulators 35 constructed the saine the insulatorsreviously'described. The wei glit of the carrier bar C is balanced bycounterweiglit T8 attached to the rear end of the cross member structedsubstantially the saine as the front contact post F, except that it isshorter. the

polar contact member comprises a stein T9 threaded into an aXial bore inthe landing post P and provided with a leek nut 80. This stein '.79 hasa head 8l integral trnm with, which is preferably squared Vto fachi-ytate its turning; and a square carbon or graphite Contact element yS2 isclamped tov the stem 79 below the head 81 by locking nuts 83.

l/Jhen assembled a neutral type,'iny relay affords a contact capacity ofsii: contact lingers (see Fig. 2), each of vwhich may haver a front anda back contact; but when assembled as a neutral-Dolar type, a shorterrneutral armature is used to afford space for the polar contacts, andtwo outside neutral lingers are omitted, as shown in Fig. 3, the samesize of case and the saine parts in other respects being used in boththe neutral and the neutral-polar relays. 1n the polaraieutral relay theheel contact post l-l of each of the two outside neutral lingers (whichare omitted); is used for' the binding postll of Aone of ilse polarconte' l prefer' to 'use 5 saine top plate for both the neutralneutral-polar relays, and sincethc locat' of the bindiuy posts in thesetwo t. ferent there are sonic blau pace;r lilled by screw bolts 8&3, :isshown 3 and l.

Relays in practice are (/ften installed in places where they aresubjected to considerable jar and vibration, which is sometimes Yviolent enough to cause improper opening of the contacts. To obviatethis diiiicult, I arranlred to float the relay on shock absorbing orcushioning springs so as to take up the vibration.. When the relay isused as a shelf type,thrce helical springs 87 are attached to theunderside of the base 2 by screws 88 threaded into the bosses for thelong screws 5 and 6-60'. These springs 87 are made stillV enoughtio-support the relay freely, but are inade sufficiently resilient totake up the ybracket lO.r

1n order that the cont-act lingers and armature may not shake around andvibrate in shipment, a cordV or other insulated flexible element 92 islooped over two of the middlek lingers, as shown in Fig". l and 2, andthe ends are carried down through a hole 93 in the base 2 and clamped bya screw and washer llhen the cord 92 is drawn tight, the contact fingersare held down against their back contacts. When the relay is installedand ready for service, the screw 94C is looscned, and the cord 92released,so that' the Contact lingers may move freely up and down.

T he cord 92 may be left in place, or removed, as desired. If the cord1s left 1n place, 1t 1s f only necessary to tighten'it again when it is`may be easily replaced, the carbon vblock 57 being readily removable,and likewise thev screw 62. The use of a hard carbon, impregnated withcopper, for the carbon contacts makes the contact resistance betweencarbon andrmetal lower, and more uniform during the life of the relay,while at the same time not sacrificing any of the advantages ornonfusing characeristics of a metal to carbon contact. I find, however,that the percentage of copper should not ordinarily exceed ten per centin order to avoid any likelihood of the contacts fusingunder severeconditions. llfhen the armature is attracted, the contact spring 50is'bentland itstips 52 scraped or rubbed over the surfaceof the frontcontact element. This keeps the surface of this contact element cleanand in connection with the copper impregnated carbon contact pro- 'videsa low contact resistance which remains substantially uniform in service.

Thejvarious binding posts have been arranged to facilitate connection ofthe various wires thereto, whether the relay is used as a shelf or as awall type. The arrangement of the three rows of binding posts instaggered or step fashion gives added accessibility to these bindingposts, enables tools to be. more easily applied, and facilitates theconnections and identification of the various Wires.

The various parts are specially arranged and constructed so that thevarious types and contact groupings for relays required in practice maybe obtained with a small number of parts. For example, the saine topplate, coils, and a large number of other parts are common to theneutral or neutral polar relays, either wall or shelf type; and by theappropriate selection and arrangement of binding posts and contacts, anydesired contact grouping, within the capacity of the device, may beobtained. In short, the device is constructed as far as practicable soas to be universal in its application to the different conditions foundin practice.

In explaining the nature of my invention I have shown and describedcertain specific forms, without attempting to show or describe thevarious alternative constructions; and I desire to have it understoodthat this drawing and description is merely illustrative of my inventionand does not exhaust the various embodiments which my invention maytake.

Vl/iat I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, ist 1. A tractive type relay for railway signalling comprising a top plateof insulating material having a large hole therein, a plate ofnon-magnetic material having holes therein smaller than said large holeand disposed over said large hole, cores supported by and passingthrough the holes in said plate and having enlarged pole piecespro]ectin r below said plate, an armature supported below said polepieces, a base, and glass walls confined between the top plate and baseto form a casing, whereby t-he relay mechanism including said plate,cores and armature can be removed as a unit.

2. A relay, comprising, a topplate, coils carried by the top plate, aninverted U- shaped bracket fixed to one edge of the top plate,suspending slots in the bracket, a projecting shelf at the top center ofthe bracket, a terminal block fiXed to the shelf, and binding postscarried by the terminal block substantially on a level with the top s ofthe coils.

3. A relay for railway signaling, comprising, .a top platesupportingcoils, an armature, and movable and stationary contacts, aninverted U-shaped bracket attached to the top plate along one edgethereof and affording a grip for supporting the relay against a wall,and a leaf spring fixed to the bracket and wall for supporting the relayand having a yieldable movable part extending between said relay and thewall.

4. A relay for railwayr signaling, comprising, atop plate having coilssupported thereon, cores in said coils projecting through said topplate, an armature, and movable and stationary contacts carried by theplate, an inverted U-shaped bracket fastened to the top plate along oneedge thereof, a terminal block attached centrally of the upper end ofsaid bracket, and binding posts for the line and coil leads carried bythe block substantially on a level with the top of the coils.

A relay of the tractive type, comprising, a pair of cores havingenlarged square pole pieces, a stop bar of non-magnetic materialbridging across said pole pieces and fastened to both of them, a tiltingarmature, insulated Contact lingers carried by said armature, insulatedstationary contacts cooperating with said fingers, and an adjustablestop pin in said armature arranged to strike the nonmagnetic stop bar,and thereby limit the movement of said armature and Contact fingers.

(i. A relay of the tractive type comprising a` top plate, a coil supportof non-magnetic material attached to said plate, a pair of cores withenlarged square pole pieces fastened to the coil support, a stop bar ofnon-magnetic matei'ial extending from one of said pole pieces to theother and fastened to both of them, spaced armature supports projectingdown from said coil support, an armature pivotally supported along' oneedge on said supports, contact fingers carried by said armature andcooperating with stationary contacts, and a non-magnetic pin with alocking nut threaded into the armature and arranged to engage said stopbar when the armature is attracted and thereby limit the movement ofsaid contact fingers.

7. In a relay of the type described, an armature, a contact finger, anda. pair of insulators connecting said finger and armature, eachinsulator comprising two studs each having a head imbedded in a block ofmolded insulation, said heads being shaped to present surfacespreventing endwise and turning movement thereof in the insulation, saidstuds including threaded stems projecting therefrom having shoulders, sothat if these stems are threaded into said armature and finger sucharmature and finger will lock against such shoulder and not against theinsulation.

8. In a relay of the type described, the combination with a top plate ofinsulating material having a large oblong opening therein, a plate ofnon-magnetic metal disposed over said opening fastened to said top platehaving two hangers depending therefrom,

cores of magnetic material passing through said metallic plateterminating in enlarged pole pieces, coils on said cores, an armaturepivotally supported by said hangers so as to bridge from one to theother of said pole ico pieces, and contact mechanism operated by saidarmature, said opening beingy of a size to permit the mechanismsupported by said metallic plate to be removed therewith through saidopening.

9. In a relay, the combination with a toj plate of insulating material,a pivotally supported Contact linger and means for operating the samemounted under said top plate, a bracket rectangular in cross-sectiongenerally vertically disposed having laterally projecting flanges at itsends disposed in parallel horizontal planes, a bolt for securing saidbracket to the underside of said top plate, said bracket being shaped tohave the lower end disposed on one side of the axis of said bolt and sothat a plane passing through said lower end and said bolt is parallel tothe flat tace of said bracket, a back contact member having a stemthreaded into the lower end of said bracket adapted to be engaged bysaid linger, and a am nut on said stem for locking said contact memberin its adjusted position.

` 10. In a relay, the combination with a top plate of insulatingmaterial, abracket secured at its upper end to the underside of said topplate, said bracket having a horiaontal `projecting flange at its lowerend, a back contact member having a stem threaded into said flange witha nut for locking it, said contact member having an enlarged head forengaging the cooperating contact spring or linger.

11. In a relay of the type described, an armature, a contact barattached to said armature by insulators, an insulated binding post,perforated clips sleeved on and clamped and electrically connected tosaid contact bar and binding post respectively, said clips havingprojecting tongues with spaced' aligned slots therein, and a pigtailconnection having its ends looped and soldered in the slots in saidtongues.

12. A polar armature construction for relays comprising a carrier barhaving a cross member, lateral 'extending extensions on the ends of saidbar, contact supports fastened to but insulated from said extensions,and two U-shaped permanent magnets fastened back to back to said crossmember by a middle bolt and two dowel pins.

13. A polar armature construction for relays comprising a carrier barhaving a middle cross member and two laterally extending end portions,U-shapedv permanent magnets fastened back to back to said cross member,by a bolt and two dowel pins, a set of insulated contact iingers carriedby each of the end portions of said carrier bar, said sets extending'Aaway each from the other, and means for supporting said carrier bar' foroscillation in the plane of said magnets.

le. A relay of the tvpe described comprisn ing a non-magnetic coilsupport, a pair of magnet structure supported by said top platelincluding coils abovev said plate enlarged pole pieces below said plateand an armature associated with said pole pieces, and contact mechanismoperated by said armature, whereby the electro-magnet structure may beremoved as a4 unit wit-hout disturbing said binding posts.

16. In a relay having an armature and a plurality of movable contactngers carried thereby, stationary front and back contacts cooperatingwith said fingers, said lingersv being enclosed in a compartment, andflexibly insulated means connected to said fingers and operable fromoutside of the compartment for holding' the fingers stationary duringshipment.

I 1". A top plate for relays of moulded porcelain having a plurality ofround holes surrounded by a ridge projecting above the surface of saidplate and arranged in the form of a square, said top plate having alarge hole therein throughwhich the cores, pole pieces and armaturesupports of the relay pass, the upper surface of said plate around thelarge hole being ground to make a tight joint with the coil support, thetop plate being unglazed to permit such grinding and being thereafterdipped in insulating varnish.

18. A relay for railway signaling comprising, atop plate of insulatingmaterial having coils supported thereon, armature and stationarycontacts of the relay, a base and glass side walls forming with the topplate an enclosed compartment for the contacts, a bracket of invertedU-shape attached to the top plate along one edge, and a plurality oflong screws connecting the top plate and base, one of said screws.passing through said bracket. Y i

19. A'relay for railway signaling purposes comprising, a porcelain topplate having coils supported thereon, armature and stationary contactsof the relay, a metallic bracket of inverted U-shape fastened to saidtop plate along one edge with the outer face of said bracketsubstantially iiush with the corresponding outer edge of said top plate;and a terminal block secured to said bracket, said bracket having spacedholes therein adapted to receive fastening members and support the relayon a wall.

20. In a relay of the type descr'ibed, a porcelain top plate having alarge rectangular hole therein, a. non-magnetic coil support secured tosaid top plate over said hole, a pair of cores with enlarged pole piecesextending through said top plate, said pole pieces beingI fastened to s'd wall support, coils on said cores, a tilting armature pivotallysupported on a horizontal axis troni said coil support below the polepieces, a bracket fastened to said top plate along one e lee and havingan opening therein so as to ali` f'. a grip for carrying the relay, andinsulated liinding posts secured to the upper edge ori said bracketsubstantially onv a level with the upper ends o'f said coils.

2l.. In a relay ot the type described, the porcelain top plate havin alarge rectangular hole therein, non-magnetic coil support secured tosaid top plate over said hole, a pair of cores with enlarged pole piecesextending through said top plate, said pole pieces being fastened tosaid wall support, en said cores, a tilting armature pivotal suin'ortedon a horizontal axis from said c f eport middle cross ineinber and twf:p" portions, U-shaped permanent in V tened back to back to said crossinei sulated contact lingers carried by said end portions of the carrierbar, a stop bar ol, inagnetic material extending between said polepieces and fastened thereto and aligned trunnion pins in the middlecross ineinber of said carrier bar and entering bearing holes in saidcoil support and said stop bar.

22. A relay for relay for railway signaling purposes comprising, a topplate, a pair ot cores having' enlarged pole pieces supported by saidplate, coils on said cores above said plate, a tiltable arn'iatureassociated fith said pole pieces provided with contact fingers haV- ingoppositely disposed contact springs, adjustable front and backstationary contacts adapted to be engaged by said contact springs, andcontacting non-magnetic ineans on the pole pieces and the armaturetorining an adjustable stop for limiting the minimum air gap betweensaid armature and pole pieces.

23. In a relay for railway signaling purposes, the combination ot' asubstantial rectangular casing having a top wall provided With a largeopening, a relay supportinounted in said opening, a pair of pole piecesextending through said relay support, a soft iron armature pivoted tosaid support and having a plurality nl neutral. Contact lingersextending i'roin one side of said arinature to the opposite side or thecasing, and a polarized armature pivotally connected to said pole piecesand having a plurality of contact lingers on each of its opposite endsextending at substantially right angles to the neutral contact lingers.y

24. A relay tor railway signaling purposes comprising, a U-shaped coreterminating in large rectangular pole pieces, a non-magnetic barconnecting said pole pieces, a soft iron armature pivotally mountedadjacent said pole pieces and having an adjustable residual pin adaptedto engage said bar, and a polarized armature magneticallyv associatedwith said pole pieces and pivotally mounted on said non-magnetic bar.

25. In a relay, a substantially rectangular cz sing, a top plate on thecasing, pole pieces in the casing, a neutral armature in the casingbelow the pole pieces and supported by the top plate adjacent one sideof the casing, neutral contact fingers carried by the armature andextending to the opposite side of the casing, a polar armature carriedby the top plate adjacent the pole pieces, and lingers carried by thepolar armature extending laterally to the two remaining` sides ol' thecasing whereby to segregate the neutral lingers from the polar ngers. Y

SLISBURY M. DAY.

